"10,000 years gives you such a crick in the neck" 🧞‍♂️

 Heisann alle sammen!

Greetings again from the great land of Norway! Here's another busy, crazy, fun, rollercoaster of a week!

- Exchanges with Oslo STLs! The Oslo STLs came to Trondheim and we got to take splits with them on Thursday which was so fun! I was with Søster Jaynes and we got to have a lesson with one of our friends who has been taught for 4 years. We tried to see if she was still interested in progressing and it ended up being such an awesome lesson! We read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and talked about prayer and asked what she could do to increase her faith and how we can help her. All in all, it was a really good lesson and we unexpectedly sang to her "A Child's Prayer" but luckily it was so cool! :)

- Exchanges with Bodø sisters! That's right we got to go on splits again on Monday and it was with the Bodø sisters! They came to Trondheim as well and I got to spend the day with Søster Washburn! Love her! It was so fun to catch up on how the work is going in Bodø and with Søster Washburn:). We got to do some service and then also had our volleyball activity which was so fun. A girl that had reached out to Søster Schneck on Facebook saying she wanted to learn more about Christ (Det skjer et mirakel!) came and so we got to meet her and it was so awesome! So Monday was a party with Søster Washburn :). 

- We also had ward conference on Sunday and I got to meet more members which was super fun! We had a ward potluck afterwards (there was so much food!) where we got to sing happy birthday to a lady who turned 100 years old! And let me tell you she's still going strong! So not quite 10,000 years but 100 years is amazing!

So this week I was reading the Book of Mormon (which I still do every week anyways:), and I was reading the war chapters in Alma and I just love them so much! I feel like those are chapters I just learn the most because of the amount of faith that the people exercise during those times is incredible. One example that I want to mention is in Alma chapter 62 verses 3-4. It tells how Captain Moroni started with just a small number of men but then traveled about land finding others and ended up with thousands being willing to fight for their countries freedom and liberty. It reminded me of something a søster missionary shared about the Lord's math vs. our math. When the disciples of Christ were given the 2 fishes and 5 loaves only a few people would be fed. But when the Lord was given the 2 fishes and 5 loaves thousands of people were fed. Now there are lots of things we don't understand and sometimes the numbers don't add up with our math, but the Lord uses a different kind of math. This math is a math that doesn't just give a problem and answer but a trial of faith and a miracle. Through Him 1 or 2 becomes infinity. Through Him can all things small and simple become great and miraculous.

Hope you all have a great week! Glad i dere!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

-Søster Twede

Splits with Sister Washburn

People really like their Teslas here

Pretty sunset

Tried to wear sweaters on the hottest day of the week (don't recommend haha)

Putting together IKEA furniture service

Returned to my home land...again ✈️

 Heia alle sammen!

Got to visit Oslo again this week! And it's most certainly not the last . With that said another crazy week so let's get started!

- Zone conference! Got to fly again this week to Oslo for zone conference! It was kind of crazy but everything turned out well. We got to play some sports and scavenger hunt around Oslo for pday and it was so great to see all the other missionaries again since it had been a little bit longer since our last zone conference. It was also so great to hear from everyone and learn from them in their presentations. All in all, zone conference was a great time :).

- We had another lesson with a little girl who is getting ready for baptism next month! We taught her a song about the Holy Ghost. It wasn't quite the Christian hip hop we'd been doing lately at their house, but who knows Søster Schneck and I could be future primary singing time teachers one day . 

- We also got to visit an inactive member yesterday which was awesome! We went with Søster Bjerkøe and it was just so good to meet this lady and hear about experiences she has had lately. That has definitely been one of my favorite parts of the mission, just listening to others and how they have been able to learn through experiences in their lives. Especially how those experiences have brought them closer to Christ.

During our visit with the member Søster Schneck shared a scripture that was so good. It was Mosiah 24:12-14 and it talks about the Lord's people going through afflictions and trials but how they are not alone. "Ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." There are times in our lives where we may feel a little more distant from our Savior or it's hard to recognize His hand in our lives. Sometimes we may start to feel numb to the Spirit and forget that it's right with us. Sometimes we may forget that we were created by God himself. We are His living temples and He always dwells in His temples, especially when the winds and waves come. Christ is the foundation that keeps us still and allows us to find strength to endure no matter how long that may be. I know that it can get hard, but those are the times that Christ is with us the most. It's through Him that we can overcome anything and find peace and hope. 

Hope you all have a great week! Glad i dere! 

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Zone Conference

Nidarosdomen

Nidarosdomen

Nidarosdomen

Hiking Group View

Zone P-Day

"Again, again, again, again" 🏒

 Heisann alle sammen!

The fact that it is already Tuesday again is just scary! Time flies! But it was another crazy great week so here we go!

- Had a lesson with one of our friends who is so cool! We read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with her and then got talking about baptism! She wants to get baptized, but just wants to learn more about our church to feel more sure. So, we're just now working to help her learn all she can and are just super excited to see how things will go:).

- We got to visit a friend of ours that we have done service for in the past. She asked us why we don't drink tea or coffee or alcohol, etc. We continued to tell her about the Word of Wisdom and she thought that it was so cool! We then got on the topic of our relationship with God and let's just say we are hoping to now start teaching her officially :).

- On the other hand, we had kind of a crazy lesson with three people. They wanted to know more about what we believe and so we just let them ask questions and it was going pretty well until it started to less become our lesson and more of their lesson. It wasn't terrible, but at the end they asked us if we were to find out the church wasn't true if we would leave it. At that point, Søster Schneck was awesome and just gave her testimony and we are here to help others learn more about Christ. So, not the most ideal lesson but they did ask for a Book of Mormon and we left on good terms so I guess we do what we can. 

Now tomorrow we have zone conference and in preparation we've been thinking a lot about repetition. As missionary, I feel every day is different, but same at the same time. Things never go according to plan, but we do the same things (studies, talking with people, praying, waking up at 6:30, etc.) everyday. At times, in the midst of the chaos, those things we do every day start to feel very repetitious. It's starts to get tiring and sometimes it's really hard to build up the motivation and maybe even start to forget why I do it. With that said, there is a movie that my family and I love to watch, "Miracle". In it these boys are on the USA hockey and preparing for the Olympics during the cold war and there's a drill that they hated but their coach made them do A LOT. It wasn't til later in the movie that they realize why they did it. They were about to represent their country in the Olympics and they didn't just want to go and play a game, but bring hope and honor to their country. In Alma 43:9, it says how the Nephites were fighting to defend their land, families, rights, and faith. Yes, it's hard sometimes to do the small and simple things everyday but when we remember WHY, that is what makes the difference. Remember that it is through Christ that those small and simple things done again, again, and again... and again, are what give us hope and strength. 

Hope you guys have a great week! Glad i dere!

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Cake from one of our friends

Flight to Oslo for Zone Conference

More cake

Flight to Oslo

Service Project

Picking berries

Waffles at sprakkafe

Sister Bjerkoe's Birthday

Rest in peace Rudolf 🦌

 Hei alle sammen!

This week was definitely a busy one and sadly I don't have very much room to write about it all but these were some highlights!

- So we got to do some christian hip hop dance videos at a lesson with a bunch of eight and five year olds . Basically we're trying to prepare an eight year old girl for her baptism and the deal is we do their activity and then they will do our activity/lesson haha. Let's just say that those songs were stuck in our heads for a long, long time :).

- Norway is absolutely beautiful!! We got to help out a member on their farm this week picking berries. It was so fun! They are just an amazing family with a little boy who reminded me of my nephew Koa :). They have a cute little Norwegian house with the most beautiful view! It was just so fun visiting them!

- Now on Sunday, we had a member meal and we had reindeer! When they brought out the food, the husband turned to Søster Schnek and I and said that this reindeer was shot last week and it had a red nose .... Anyways, I will say that reindeer is very good and it was so fun to get to know the members!

- We also got to go do some service this week for a sweet old lady that needed help cleaning her house. She was so cute! She's not a member, but we got to talk to her about service and how important it is to just be kind to everyone around you:). One of my favorite things has been to just talk and listen to people from many different backgrounds and hear what they believe and what helps them today.

With that said, I read a talk this week by Elder Holland called "Songs Sung and Unsung". He quote the hymn, "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today", where is says,

"And Jesus listening can hear the songs I cannot sing."

He says that sometimes the happy moments are not always there and there are times where we can't sing songs of praise and joy. However, there is a reason why the songs of heaven are sung by a choir and not a solo. Yes, we all have different voices but when we all unite our voices through Christ, that is when we can help lift each other up. And even during the times where we can't sing, Christ helps us find a song of peace within our hearts. Hope you all have a great week! Glad i dere! 

Kia Kaha and just keep swimming:)

- Søster Twede 

Cabin/Restaurant at the top of our pday hike

Saturday Hiking Group

District Council stretches

Language study on the docks

Language study on the docks